GEOG 203 Final Exam - Flashcards
67 Cards in this Set
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Alexander VonHumboldt
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father of biogeography
saw vegetation as a whole, rather than small parts of botany
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abiotic
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impact of physical environment
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biotic
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impact of biology; inherent characteristics
barrier of transportation
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Niche Concept
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habitat(s) a particular plant/animal is most suited for; range
environmental variable (x), species response (y)
zone of optimum
zone of stress
zone of intolerance
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chipmunk distribution case
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2 species can live in same areas, but one takes over 1 section and the other takes over the other section and they are very mildly mixed in the middle; based on biotic characteristics
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mountain vegetation
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more like tundra at top
middle--low trees
bottom tropical (Costa Rica)
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population
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...
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community
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populations interacting together
-combination of species
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ecosystem
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communities and environment interacting together
-climate factors and living things; varying sizes; overlap
**DYNAMIC
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photosynthesis
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fundamental process of turning water and carbon dioxide into glucose, water, & oxygen
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biome
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ecosystems interacting
formed by temperature & precipitation similarities
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biodiversity
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many types of flora/fauna
highest in warmer/wetter regions: tropical rainforest
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all organisms need
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water
sunlight/heat/energy
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island diversity
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1. increases with size
2. decreases with distance from mainland
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latitudinal gradient affect on biodiversity
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higher latitudes= lower biodiversity; more in southern hemisphere than northern hemisphere
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history of ecosystems
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*65million years ago: Tertiary pd=mostly warm, rainforests
*1.6million years ago: Quaternary pd=mostly cold, glacial
forests fragmented over time b/c tectonic plate movement
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invasive exotic species
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species not native to land better at competing & stay around
*Kudzu
*Chinese Tallow
*Tamarisk
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anthropogenic disturbances
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people-caused
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disturbance
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mass even that kills vegetation
*resets succession
*maintains habitats
*maintains species diversity
*create landscape patterns
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succession
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recovery of vegetation after a disturbance
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climax vegetation
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self-replacing community (instead of new, more developed/evolved species)
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serotinous cones
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cones only open with heat & distribute seeds
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forest fire frequency
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humans decrease natural fires; must prescribe fires to maintain some habitats/species
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denudation
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processes that degrade or strip down the landscape; anything that causes weathering/erosion
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relief
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change in geomorphology/elevation
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geomorphology
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science of landforms
origin, elevation, form, spatial distribution
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landforms are consequences of
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*tectonic plate movement
*denudational processes wear down/rearrange (erosion & deposition)
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differential weathering
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everything weathers at a different rate b/c everything is composed differently
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ridges
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formed by resistant rocks such as sandstone;
have steeper angled slopes
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valleys
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formed by less resistant rocks like shale
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resisting framework
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rocks that are in place on the landscape, often having been uplifted to high elevations by plate tectonic processes
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karst
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geological formation shaped by the dissolution of a layer of soluble bedrock (limestone)
features sinkholes; limited surface water
cockpit karst (like mattress egg shells)
tower kart (rapid rates of weathering in humid envt--China)
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mass wasting
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slope movement/mass movement
soil, sand, regolith, & rock move downslope under the force of gravity/cohesion/friction
**gravity as an agent of denudation
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erosion
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wearing away
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deposition
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drop-off after being carried away
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ingredients for mass wasting
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*big, steep mountain
*great tectonic activity, shattered rocks (loose rocks)
*climate: occasional heavy winter rainstorms; vegetation=drought-tolerant; don't lose much water; mountain climate
*fire
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colluvium
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deposit that is a consequence of mass-wasting
example=rocks at mountain bottom
typically unsorted
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angle of repose
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maximum slope where "safe" from mass wasting
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factor of safety
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how likely a slope is to fail
=strength/stress
best further away from 1
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talus slope
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type of colluvium; fragment of rock broken off
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debris avalanche
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increases speed with slide; breaks apart and becomes fluid
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creep slide
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slow movement; evident by leaning of items on hillside
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solifluction lobe (Sweden)
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ice top layer falls out; soil moving down slope atop permafrost;
slow tundra environment
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Huascaran, Andes 1970
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jumped 1000ft ridge; Yungay town in lowlands covered by debris
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gradient
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angle of stream
slope
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velocity
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speed/flow rate of stream
rapidness; greatest at coastal plains b/c turbulence is low
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discharge
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volume of stream
width*depth*velocity=Q
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cross-sectional area
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area in section of a stream (width/depth)
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hydrograph
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bar graph of amount of rainfall during event
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hyetograph
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line graph of discharge during/after rainfall event
flashy for urban areas; subdued for rural areas (due to amount of vegetation in the way flow)
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drainage basin
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collection area for water (first order basin nested inside 2nd order basin...)
sloping landscapes
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dendritic drainage pattern
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efficient water delivery
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trelis drainage pattern
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on valleys
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parallel drainage pattern
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eroded down rapidly
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deranged drainage pattern
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glaciers melt back
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watershed
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line separating drainage basins;
usually for smaller streams
Continental Divide=major
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hydraulic action
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water's movement picking up rocks; power
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abrasion
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water scrapes because of contact (stream pushes load along bed)
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solution
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dissolved load in stream
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base level
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gravity/streams cut down to this; ultimate=sea level
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load
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what streams carry
*bed=bottom
*suspended=within, tumbling
*dissolved=within but unseen
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alluvium
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stream deposition as velocity decliens
along stream bed & along middle & sides of stream
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point bar
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arc where stream meanders
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undercut bank
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where stream begins to form closed horseshoe
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oxbow lake
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created when stream cuts off "longer" route
horseshoe shape
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alluvial fans
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fluvial and mass wasting denudation
dry areas
stream sorts load & settles at mountain base like a fan
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delta
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*stream slows toward ocean/gulf
*stream deposits alluvium near coast & settles at mouth of river
*expands coastline slowly
birdfoot or delta/triangle-shaped
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Geog 203 Study Guide